Phone Home

"You know, I felt alone for a long time. So long, that I just figured that's how things were going to be. It turns out there were people out there for me that I didn't even know I wanted. You'll find your people too, I promise. You just have to keep believing that things will be okay, even when it's hard."

—Zari Tomaz to young Ray Palmer

"Phone Home"
Information
Season 3 » Episode 4
Episode number	37 of 110
Original airdate	October 31, 2017
Written by	Matthew Maala
Directed by	Kevin Mock
Guest stars
Jack Fisher as young Ray Palmer Susie Abromeit as Sandy Palmer Christina Brucato as Lily Stein
Chronology
Preceded by	"Zari"
Followed by	"Return of the Mack"

"Phone Home" is the fourth episode of the third season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and the thirty-seventh episode overall. It aired on October 31, 2017.

Synopsis

The Legends learn that Ray Palmer will die because they broke time, causing them to race back to 1988 to try and save his life. When they arrive, they are surprised to learn that young Ray Palmer has befriended a time-displaced baby Dominator putting him in harm’s way with the government and the Dominator’s mother. New to the ship and missions, Zari must find her place and learn to trust the team. Meanwhile, Stein begins working on a secret project on the ship which makes Rory and Jax suspicious.

Gallery

Videos

DC's Legends of Tomorrow Phone Home Trailer The CW

DC's Legends of Tomorrow Phone Home Scene The CW

DC's Legends of Tomorrow 3x04 Sneak Peek 2 "Phone Home" (HD) Season 3 Episode 4 Sneak Peek 2

DC's Legends of Tomorrow Inside Phone Home The CW

Production

Preparation ran from July 31 until August 9, 2017. Shooting ran from August 10 until August 22, 2017.

Trivia

• Young Ray is seen giving Gumball a Nougat Nummy, a reference to another series produced by Marc Guggenheim, Trollhunters.
• There are a few refences to the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in this episode.
  • The title is a reference to a famous line in the aforementioned movie, in which the titular character requests to "phone home". The episode is highly similar to the film, in which the protagonist protects an alien, E.T., from government agents, before allowing its family to take it home.
    • Nate notes how similar the situation is to E.T., being surprised when Amaya claims to never have seen it.
  • When Zari, Ray, and Ray's younger self are trying to take the Gumball to safety, Zari uses her totem to create a wind that lifts the bikes she and young Ray are riding into the air, reminiscent of when E.T. uses telekinesis to make the kids' bicycles fly.
• Amaya says "Get away from him, you bitch!" to the mother Dominator attacking Nate, which is a play on the infamous line "Get away from her, you bitch!" spoken by Ellen Ripley in the 1986 film Aliens.
• When keeping watch on young Ray, Nate cleans a DeLorean DMC-12, calling it a "real time machine". This is a reference to the Back to the Future franchise, in which the time machine is a DeLorean DMC-12.
• Ray picks up a Nintendo Entertainment System controller, reminiscing how his brother always wanted to play Tecmo Bowl, whereas he always wanted to play The Legend of Zelda.
  • Zari later lies that she bought a copy of The Legend of Zelda on the black market, never having beat the final boss (who Ray notes as Ganon).
• Ray and Nate makes mention of a number of Billy Joel's albums, including Piano Man, River of Dreams, The Stranger and The Nylon Curtain.
• Young Ray and Gumball watch the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain together, specifically the scene in which they sing "Good Morning". Gumball later makes the NSA agents perform the routine from the scene.
  • Older Ray and Zari later watch Singin' in the Rain, coincidentally after Zari promises younger Ray that she would watch it with him.
• Mick claimed that Singin' in the Rain was not as good as the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof.
• Two kids are dressed for Halloween as Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars and the musician Prince, respectively.
• Zari says the FDA outlawed all candy by 2042. In "River of Time" Mick wonders why all the snacks from 2166 are sugar-free.
• Young Ray identifies himself as Sir Galahad to Zari. He goes on to meet the actual Galahad in Camelot and uses his sword to fight for the kingdom.
• Zari's costume in the final scene, like her amulet, is based on the 1970s Saturday morning show The Secrets of Isis.